Page 40 - Bonhams Indian Private Collection of Snuff Bottles March 2016 New York

Joanna Lau Sullivan 1921-2015
JOANNA LAU SULLIVAN: A TRIBUTE
Joanna Lau Sullivan was a Hawaii girl whose parents ran a small
grocery on Oahu. From this modest beginning she and her husband
Maurice “Sully” Sullivan began the expansion and development of a
family business which is today Hawaii’s largest grocery retailer with
thirty-two “Foodland” and “Sack and Save” stores statewide, more
than one hundred and fifty retail stores across nine states and four
thousand employees. It was the realization of the American dream, a
family accomplishment significantly bolstered by Joanna’s business
acumen, hard work and wise counsel.
Joanna and “Sully” generously shared their prosperity with all of
Hawaii’s people. Following Sully’s death, Joanna and her family
continued their far reaching community support, providing resources
for a wide range of causes and organizations associated with
education, health, and human services and the arts.
At the Honolulu Museum of Art an endowment was established
which provides support for exhibitions, staff salaries and
conservation related to the operation of “The Maurice J. Sullivan
Family Gallery of Chinese Art.” Included among the works on display
is a special selection of Joanna’s cherished snuff bottles. In addition, John Gilmore Ford’s essay in the Winter 2015 edition of the Winter
funding for the care and maintenance of the “Joanna Lau Sullivan
Courtyard” is assured. “Joanne’s Courtyard” was for her a source of
great joy and pride, a unique legacy enjoyed by tens of thousands of
visitors each year.
She was a savvy business woman and a generous benefactor with a
keen eye for beauty. There was absolutely no guile or pretense about
Joanna. She was a gracious, charming and warm human being,
whose life made all of ours far richer and more meaningful.
George R. Ellis
Director of Emeritus Honolulu Museum of Art
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JOANNA LAU SULLIVAN AND WANG XISAN
Joanna Lau Sullivan (Liu Yue fu) met Wang Xisan in 1981 when
he visited Honolulu for the first time, participating in the thirteenth
annual convention of the International Snuff Bottle Society. Joanna
was so impressed by his masterful execution of inside painted
snuff bottles that she became one of his most enthusiastic patrons.
Already a collector of fine snuff bottles, she augmented her
collection with examples of his inside painted bottles, which are
offered here in this catalog. She commissioned him to paint her
favorite subjects, including the Watermoon Guanyin (lot 6064), the
rooster, her birth year and the zodiac (lots 6056 and 6059), children
at play (lot 6065) historical figures and legends from both Chinese
and Hawaiian history (lots 6058, 6061 and 6062) and animal
subjects (lost 6051, 6053, 6054, 6057, 6059, 6060). Her most
extensive commission was for Master Wang to paint portraits of all
her family members, including her own portrait together with her
beloved husband, “Sully”. To commemorate her patronage and kind
support for his work, Wang Xisan painted a bottle with his own self
portrait, with an eloquent dedication to her (lot 6063).
Among the numerous tributes written about Joanna Lau Sullivan,
2015 Journal of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society sets
out in detail the depth and breadth of her philanthropic commitment
to multiple causes and organizations in her community outside of
her passion for snuff bottles. He writes that, in acknowledgment of
her efforts, Mrs. Sullivan was name Philanthropist of the Year by the
Association of Fundraising Professionals-Honolulu Chapter in 2008
and again in 2013. He reiterates the high regard for her held by the
Honolulu Museum curatorial staff and Board, eloquently expressed
by George Ellis, Director in his tribute published above. The legacy
of Joanna Lau Sullivan’s philanthropic efforts endures through her
family’s actions and activities in support of the Hawaii community
and the Museum.